Here are some photos of Studioilse’s latest project, a five-storey apartment building in Hong Kong.
Located at TwoTwoSix Hollywood Road, the project incorporates one apartment on each floor.
Bronze screens shield the double-height lobby from the road outside, while floor-to-ceiling windows in each home overlook the gardens below.
Internally, screens are used to divide the space as required by residents.
More about Studio Ilse on Dezeen »
Photographs are by Magnus Marding.
The information below is from Studioilse:
A Frame for Life at TwoTwoSix
Hong Kong development with a sense of solidity and permanence
Hollywood road, in Hong Kong’s cultural district is to gain a landmark building that connects to the scale and soul of the area. Studioilse joins forces with Hong Kong property developer Blake’s to create a site that enhances the identity of the area.
From concept and architectural direction through to interiors, Studioilse use left and right brain intelligence, to create a real, authentic home. TwoTwoSix will have a sense of solidity, permanence and its own modern identity; yet tell the on-going story of the place, with street interaction. The units are now for sale.
Blake’s executive directors, Alan lo and Darrin Woo, with Ilse, share a common vision: to revive neighbourhood living that has become so rare in Hong Kong today. ‘Blake’s leads the way for a new class of creative developer, one who revitalizes neighbourhoods. TwoTwoSix will be a catalyst for such developments. Aimed at the cultured buyer, it will be the Portobello road of Hong Kong.’ Ilse Crawford.
Using a whole brain approach, Studioilse use a combination of empirical research and human understanding. Always starting from the context, the client, plus the social and economic realities, the studio then addresses human needs. For TwoTwoSix, the studio looked to Hollywood road for their starting point. The studio then built a physical and sensorial world that ties into the surroundings, often shut out by other local developments.
The Architecture
Studioilse took great care in the scale of building, to root it to the neighbourhood. The architectural materiality used appeals to the senses and importantly, creates a sense of warmth often missing in more conventional Hong Kong flats. As you walk off Hollywood road, discretely hidden behind a bronze architectural screen, you enter the double height light filled lobby, with verdant planting. A 5-storey development, with an apartment per floor of approximately 1,500 sq ft, is a generosity of space virtually unknown in Hong Kong. The ‘One room living’, uses dividers to give flexibility throughout the evolving life of the contemporary owner, yet provide a continuity between the former shapes of the room. The floor to ceiling windows overlook Hollywood Gardens and bring nature into the home.
The Show flat
The show flat appeals to world travellers, nomads who want a place to call their own. The design is international but reflects the eclectic mix of the area. The apartment is a ‘Frame for Life’. It’s art meets antiques, telling the on-going story of new inhabitants yet still connected to the neighbourhood.
‘When I look at spaces, I don’t just look at the visual. I’m much more interested in the sensory thing, in thinking about it from a human context, the primal perspective, the thing that touches you.’ Ilse Crawford.
Crawford has a whole approach to design, by focusing on human life; she brings soul to a project and creates new realities.
More on Studioilse
Ilse Crawford heads her design company Studioilse, alongside her brand consultancy. A figurehead for design that puts the human being at the centre, she is fascinated by what drives us, brings us together and ultimately makes us feel alive. Studioilse manifests this through the design of brands, buildings, furniture and products that are a frame for life.
More on Blake’s Advisors
Partners Alan Lo and Darrin Woo are two of Asia’s best-known young entrepreneurs, co founders of Press Room Group and known for actively for promoting design, creativity and tourism in Hong Kong. Blake’s Advisors (real estate), lead the way for a new class of creative developer, one who adds to the life of the neighbourhood, rather than just bulldozing over them. www.blakes.hk
More about Hollywood Road
Hollywood road lies in the heart of the Sheung Wan district, an area much loved for its heritage. Sheung Wan was one of the earliest settled places by the British, and is otherwise known as the Gateway district. It’s distinctly low rise compared to the soaring high rise of most of Hong Kong. Its characterful streets are home to galleries of modern art, artefacts and vintage finds, neighbourhood shops with shop fronts, rather than the faceless shops of the ubiquitous mall.
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